Nosey Neighbor Foils Four-Wheeler Theft

Sometimes it pays to have nosey neighbors.

Such is the case in Hart County where the neighbor of a burglary victim helped retrieve a stolen four-wheeler.

It happened late Monday night on Cokesbury Highway SR181, according to Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland.

Cleveland said a man was outside in his yard about 10p Monday night when he saw his neighbor’s John Deere Gator go by with the headlights off.

 “He felt like something was up and so he followed it down to the Smith-McGhee bridge where a truck with a trailer was waiting. So, he interrupted their plans,” Cleveland said.

Cleveland said the suspects already had the Gator on the back of their trailer and were about to strap it down when the neighbor who had followed them showed up and asked what they were doing.

When they saw the neighbor, the suspects shoved the four-wheeler off the back of their trailer and sped off over the bridge into Anderson County.

 “We recovered a couple of items off that truck that may produce some evidence for us,” Cleveland said. “But thanks to a nosey neighbor or neighborhood watch or whatever you want to call it, they saved this man a John Deere Gator.”

Cleveland said the neighbor was not able to get a good description of the pick-up hauling the trailer because it was dark, but he said investigators are working with South Carolina authorities to locate a suspect.

Meantime, the Gator was recovered and returned to its rightful owner.